


Untitled (Happy Birthday, Professor)

by babygray



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Cake, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Gen, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22184806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babygray/pseuds/babygray
Summary: Prof. Snape's in his office, burning the midnight oil on January 8th.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Untitled (Happy Birthday, Professor)

**Author's Note:**

> I originally planned something longer, but I started to feel something and needed to stop. First posted on tumblr ( [x](https://babygray-dam.tumblr.com/post/190158266247/untitled-370-words-deep-in-the-dungeons-tucked) )
> 
> _Happy Birthday, Professor Snape._

Deep in the dungeons, tucked away in his office, Severus worked by candlelight. Night settled heavy and cold, smothering the sound of his quill scratching against parchment. The clock in the far corner of the room ticked on. He hummed as he slashed through another mediocre essay full of jerky, splotchy handwriting.

Another dunderhead had left his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay for the last possible minute. Do they never learn? He marked it with a 'P' and tossed it into a pile with the rest of the marked essays, only to let out a sigh. Three days into the new term, and he made only the smallest dent in the mountain of grading before him.

He set his quill aside and rubbed his eyes. His coffee had long gone cold, and he grimaced as he took a sip. Tomorrow was Thursday; he have the first hour free. He could go to bed now, then tackle the 3rd years' failings in the morning before class. He nudged one of the rolled papers a bit closer to the candle and imagined tossing every single sheet of parchment into an open fire.

The clock in the far corner of the room began to chime. Midnight. He groaned as he pulled himself to his feet. That settled the matter in his mind; he would crawl into bed and—

_Pop!_ A tea tray overladen with flowers and dainty china appeared on his desk, crushing several of the rolled essays underneath. In the center of the excessive bouquet and tea cups, crowned with a single candle, rested a chocolate cake much too big for one man to eat alone.

Severus let out a long sigh and extinguished the candle.

He hadn't forgotten.

It was more factual to say that he hadn't made an effort to remember.

He sat back down and dug out a fork, tossing the flowers aside.

"Happy birthday, Severus," he murmured as he forked a chunk of sponge and buttercream. The house elves' cooking had always been too rich, too sweet, and the cake seemed to get stuck in his throat as he swallowed the bite down.

He drank some of the fresh tea and ate more cake until the sensation went away.


End file.
